OREANDA-NEWS. December 21, 2010. The Russian Ministry for Economic Development (EDM) and GAZ Group have signed an investment agreement with Daimler AG on the assembly of Mercedes LCVs in Russia. Earlier that day, the director of the EDM department for special economic zones and project financing, Dmitry Levchenkov said the accord implied production of 60 000 KDX Mercedes vehicles annually, and estimated investments in the project at nearly EUR 100 mn.

The agreement is to comply with the present-day assembly and be valid for 7 years. Production is to kick off in late 2011. The cooperation between GAZ and Daimler AG has long been a topic of discussion. The Mercedes-Benz press-service in Russia confirmed it was in talks with GAZ and some other Russian car producers, but did not give any other comments.